Giuliani’s comments draw fire

Bipartisan criticism follows mayor’s remarks on Obama.

Politicians of both parties used Sunday talkshow appearances to condemn former Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s remark last week that he didn’t think President Barack Obama loved America.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., rejected Giuliani’s comments but criticized Obama.

“I have no doubt that (Obama) loves this country,” Graham said on ABC’s “This Week.” “I have no doubt that he’s a patriot. But his primary job as the president of the United States is to defend this country, and he’s failing miserably.”

Former New York Gov. George Pataki, a Republican, called the episode a “schoolyard spat” and said it had shifted the conversation from substantive topics.

“I don’t doubt that the president loves America,” Pataki said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “But I do doubt that we’re focusing on solving the problems in Washington that we need to.”

Speaking on “Fox News Sunday,” Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, also a Republican, said: “I just don’t think it’s helpful in the public debate to question motives or question patriotism.”

Republicans who are not in the 2016 spotlight also weighed in. Rep. Darrell Issa of California, who has been a leading critic of the Obama administration on the 2012 Benghazi attacks, said Giuliani’s comments had brought attention back to Obama’s handling of national-security issues.

“I think we should thank him for this part of it,” he said on CNN.

Former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said on CNN that he didn’t “particularly care for” how Giuliani phrased the criticism.

“But it’s typical Rudy,” he said. “He’s always aggressive. He’s always upfront.”

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, who worked for Giuliani as a federal prosecutor and said he “admired” the then-New York mayor’s response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, echoed Pence.

“In my judgment, Mayor Giuliani’s comments were not helpful,” Johnson said on CNN. “I think his most recent statements are very regrettable.”

Rep. Keith Ellison, DMinnesota, said on ABC that the president “definitely is a great lover of America” and that his signature health care law demonstrated “a pragmatic love” for the country.